Thai farmers being thrown to wolves of the market
By allowing rice to flood the market at the same time each year, Thailand has annually fallen victim to the laws of supply and demand. In less developed and less organised countries, the normal market mechanism doesn’t work fairly for natural products.
It seems strange that, as one of the world’s largest rice producers, Thailand has failed to find a solution to this old problem – especially since other business sectors here seem to be relatively well developed.
As in other developing countries, the Thai state must intervene as a buffer against the market by buying vast amounts of rice to store and sell on at a later date, until civil society is developed enough to do this job by itself.
Even in many developed countries, the state buys, stores and sells large proportions of locally grown grain. Where the market has been allowed more power, many farmers are demanding that the state intervene to restore stability and predictability amid fluctuating prices that threaten their livelihood.
The yearly rice crop cannot be consigned to the “wolves” of the supply-and-demand market. Experience around the world suggests that the right mix of market and state will secure fairness for farmers.
In contrast, it seems naive to believe that those who make their living out of profit are best suited to fairly serve vulnerable and poorly organised farmers.
A Johnsen
